Increased Police Presence At Manchester Schools

In the wake of the Newtown school massacre, local police have heightened their presence at all schools and the school superintendent is considering an emergency drill to test the current response system.

"We have a very good rapport with the board of education _ we talk on a daily basis," police Chief Marc Montminy said Monday. "We don't want to go into specific details, but I will say there is an increased presence at all our schools, public and private."

The town's emergency management team, comprising first responders, school officials and representatives of the emergency operations center, is slated to meet on Thursday. That quarterly meeting had been scheduled before the mass shooting in Newtown that claimed 27 lives on Friday, interim School Superintendent Richard Kisiel said, but the panel will be taking a close look at school security.

Kisiel said he is considering an emergency drill to test the school security and response system in place.

"I wouldn't want to wait for a crisis," he said.

The school district follows the National Incident Management System, which is managed by the federal Department of Homeland Security.

No one has answered the question of how Adam Lanza could have been stopped from entering a locked school by shooting out a glass door. Many have commented, however, on the bravery of the teachers who immediately began hustling kids into closets and bathrooms and locking interior doors.

Manchester school district staff are trained in the same procedures, Kisiel said.

"That is as much as we can expect," he said. "We have to be assured that everyone has that training."